977.342 
R47h 


|  Mrs.  Elva  Gilchrist  Rinehart,  comp. 
— Hills  Grove,  Illinois:  Its  Early 
History.  (1925) 


LIBRARY  OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 

AT  URBANA-CHAMPAIGN 


977-3^2 

I&7h 


Illinois  Historical  Survey 


97734-2 
P<i7h 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2012  with  funding  from 

University  of  Illinois  Urbana-Champaign 


http://archive.org/details/hillsgroveillinoOOrine 


Hills   Grove,  Illinois 

Its  Early  History 

Compiled  by  Mrs.  Elva  Gilchrist  Rinehart 
1925 


S.  C.  Davidson,  Publisher,  Carthage,  Illinois 


Copyrighted  1925  by  Mrs.  Elva  Gilchrist  Rinehart 
All   Rights   Reserved. 


SEP  21*25 

©CU8C8249 


CONTENTS 


Dedication.  Mrs.  Mary  Decker  Webb 

Seminary.  ___.  Mrs.  Julia  Holton  Ferris 

Roswell  Tyrrell  Mrs.  Nellie  Owen  Griffitts 

Hugh  McDonough,  Senior Charles  McDonough 

James  Fulkerson  William  S.  Owen 

John  Waddill ...James  M.  Waddill 

Charles  Wesley  Waddill 

Mrs.  Candace  Waddill  Gallaher 
Isaac  Clark  Webb  Thomas  I.  Webb 

James  King John  Richard  King 

Isaac  Holton Mrs.  Julia  Holton  Ferris 

Andrew  Josephus  Walker . 

Mrs.  Mary  Walker  Thompson 


Charles  Grandison  Gilchrist 

Mrs.  Alice  Ferris  Martin 

Asal  Owen William  S.  Owen 

Samuel  Adams  Knott Dr.  Minerva  Knott 

Larkin  Crouch  Bacon     Mrs.  Mary  Bacon  Johnson 

John  J.  Salisbury Charles  T.  Salisbury 

Asa  Decker Mrs.  Mary  Decker  Webb 

Benedict  D.  Reynolds 

Mrs.  Louisa  Reynolds  Window 

Isaac  Farwell  Holton Rev.  Charles  S.  Holton 

Village  of  Hills  Grove 

Mrs.  Elva  Gilchrist  Rinehart 

A  School  of  a  Later  Day Jireh  Swift  Berry 

A  Tribute T r  Ruth  Cornelia  Foley 


Page  Three 


PREFACE 


BELIEVING  that  the  history  of  the  early  days 
of  Hills  Grove  would  be  interesting,  we  have 
written  this  book. 

Today  the  stories  of  pioneer  life  are  not  often 
Heard  for  the  hushed  lips  do  not  tell  of  the  fire 
place,  spinning  wheel  and  loom.  Seed  time  and 
harvest  have  a  different  meaning  to  us  than  it 
had  to  those  of  the  other  days.  Husking  bees, 
apple  parings  and  spelling  matches  are  not  among 
our  social  gatherings  and  this  small  book  is  sent 
forth  to  preserve  the  traditions  of  the  past. 

Nineteen  persons  have  written  the  copy  for 
our  little  volume,  another  has  sent  the  drawing, 
and  the  forefathers  of  each  were  at  one  time  a 
part  of  our  little  colony.  The  present  home  of 
Mrs.  Nellie  Owen  Griffitts  is  in  the  state  of  Wash- 
ington and  Dr.  Minerva  Knott's  in  California 
where  our  land  reaches  as  far  toward  the  West 
as  it  can;  while  Rev.  Charles  S.  Holton  lives 
where   the   Atlantic   washes   our   eastern   shore. 


The  others,  who  have  contributed,  live  near  the 
scenes  where  their  parents  and  grandparents 
settled  nearly  a  century  ago. 

It  could  not  have  been  written  without  the 
cheering  cooperation  of  each  one  who  has  taken  a 
part. 

Thanks  are  extended  to  others  who  have 
helped  with  their  suggestions,  advice  and  words 
oi  encouragement.  The  work  has  been  made 
pleasant  by  the  kind  words  of  appreciation  which 
came  from  many  sources  and  especially  from 
those  who  have  passed  their  three  score  years 
and  ten. 

The  compensation  to  all  who  have  assisted 
in  any  way  will  be  found  in  the  gratitude  of  those 
who  are  interested  in  this  little  book,  The  Early 
History  of  Hills  Grove. 

— Mrs.  Elva  Gilchrist  Rinehart. 


Page  Four 


DEDICATION 

The  dear  old  Seminary 

Sweet  memories  round  thee  cling; 

Its  rough  hewn  tualls  and  hard  slab  seats, 

Our  homage  to  thee  we  bring. 

We  think  of  Uncle  Isaac  Holton, 
The  man  of  brain  and  will. 
And  his  good  wife,  Aunt  Phoebe 
Who  sleep  near  by  on  the  hill. 

And  as  I  pass  their  grass  grown  graves, 
I  always  pause  and  think 
That  life  is  just  a  fleeting  span, 
We  are  standing  on  the  brink. 

Mrs.  Mary  Decker  Webb. 


Puge  Fi\e 


— Drawing   by    Richard    Gilchrist   Breeden. 
HILLS  GROVE  SEMINARY  1837. 


Page  Six 


THE  HILLS  GROVE  SEMINARY 


Mrs.  Julia  Holton  Ferris. 


THE  School  House  at  Hills  Grove  was  built  by 
my  father,  Isaac  Holton,  in  1836  or  1837.  It 
was  built  as  soon  after  he  came  to  Illinois  as  he 
could  interest  the  people  in  the  movement.  It 
was  what  we  should  call  now  a  community  house 
or  center  as  well  as  a  school.  It  was  built  of  logs 
nauled  in  from  the  neighboring  woods.  In  the 
old  times  when  a  house  or  barn  was  to  be  built, 
all  the  men  of  the  surrounding  country  got  to- 
gether to  help  raise  the  logs  in  place,  hence  the 
terms  "house-raising'  and  "log-rolling."  The 
logs  were  hewn  and  notched  at  each  end  so  that 
they  would  fit  into  each  other  and  make  a  firm 
wall.  On  the  day  set,  the  wives  planned  for  a  big 
dinner  for  their  part  in  the  undertaking. 

The  man  who  was  best  fitted  for  superin- 
tending the  work  gave  directions  as  log  after  log 
was  rolled  into  place  with  great  shoutings. 

The  seminary,  as  we  called  the  school  build- 
ing, was  a  one-story  structure  with  a  loft  above, 
20x24  feet  on  the  ground.  It  faced  the  south 
with  the  entrance  door  near  the  southeast  corner. 
I'nere  was  a  window  about  the  middle  of  the 
south  wall,  another  so  located  in  the  north  wall 


with  one  in  each  end.  The  door  was  fastened 
merely  by  a  peg  in  a  hole  in  the  door  casing.  In 
the  History  of  McDonough  County  published  in 
1885  it  is  said  to  have  been  a  station  of  the  "un- 
derground railroad"  for  escaping  slaves.  It  stood 
in  what  is  now  George  Foley's  front  yard. 

To  heat  the  seminary,  father  had  a  sheet  iron 
stove  made  in  which  we  burned  wood  (as  coal  was 
not  yet  dug  from  the  mines  of  Colchester).  The 
stove  stood  a  little  east  of  the  center  of  the  room 
and  the  wraps,  caps  and  dinner  pails  were  hung 
on  wooden  pegs  on  the  east  wall. 

The  floor  was  of  split  logs  hewn  flat  with  ax 
and  adze,  of  the  type  called  puncheon.  Of  course 
the  nails  were  wrought,  home-made  by  a  black- 
smith, about  two  inches  long  and  as  big  around 
as  a  lead  pencil.  The  roof  was  of  split  shingles, 
now  sometimes  called  "shakes" — split  from  a 
straight  grained  log  about  thirty  inches  long. 
We  called  them  clapboards.  They  were  held  in 
place  by  long  poles  laid  on  top  of  the  clapboards 
at  the  overlap. 

The  seats  were  oi  logs  split,  with  auger  holes 
bored  in  rounded  side  for  the  wooden  legs,  thus 


Page  Seven 


having  the  flat  side  up.  Some  legs  were  made 
shorter  for  the  smaller  children's  benches.  Later 
there  were  desks,  each  for  two  persons,  with  a 
shelf  below  for  books,  slate  and  pencils.  There 
was  a  desk  on  a  raised  platform  where  father  sat 
as  teacher,  keeping  rather  strict  discipline  as  I 
well  remember.  This  desk  was  used  as  a  pulpit 
on  Sundays. 

Father  always  used  a  bell  to  call  the  children 
in  morning,  noon  and  recess.  The  bell  he  used 
was  the  one  he  had  used  in  his  former  schools,  a 
brass  bell  with  a  wooden  nandle  about  ten  inches 
in  height  and  for  a  long  time  after  his  death  we 
had  it  in  our  home. 

My  father  taught  the  common  branches  to 
the  children  of  the  neighborhood  but  he  also  had 
a  class  of  young  men  whom  he  was  instructing  in 
the  languages,  mathematics  and  other  subjects 
preparing  them  for  college.  Some  of  these  young 
men  later  became  prominent  citizens  of  the  state. 

I  do  not  know  definitely  what  father  received 
for  teaching  but  think  it  was  a  certain  sum  per 


month  for  each  scholar  and  it  was  probably  paid 
in  labor  or  produce. 

I  well  remember  those  happy  days.  We  had 
recess  morning  and  afternoon.  The  children 
coming  from  a  distance  brought  their  lunches  in 
dinner  pails.  We  played  the  many  children's 
games:  such  as,  black  man,  blind  man's  buff, 
ante-over,  etc. 

The  seminary  was  also  used  on  Sunday  for 
church  and  Sunday  school  as  well  as  for  all  other 
community  gatherings.  The  room  was  lighted 
by  candles  in  those  early  days  and  it  was  custom- 
ary to  announce  evening  meetings  "at  early 
candle  lighting." 

Asal  Fulkerson  bought  this  building  in  1877, 
(it  having  been  used  for  a  dwelling  for  sixteen 
years  by  Jacob  Fousal  and  his  family)  for  fifteen 
dollars  ($15.00).  The  floor  had  to  be  taken  up 
with  a  crowbar.  The  building  was  knocked  apart 
and  taken  to  Mr.  Fulkerson's  place.  The  logs 
were  marked  in  successive  numbers  and  the  build- 
ing was  re-erected  as  it  formerly  stood  except  the 
windows,  as  it  was  to  be  used  as  a  barn. 


Page  Eight 


ROSWELL  TYRRELL,  THE  FIRST  SETTLER 

Mrs.  Nellie  Owen  Griffitts,  Granddaughter. 


ROSWELL  TYRRELL,  one  of  the  early  settlers 
of  Hills  Grove,  McDonough  county,  Illinois, 
was  the  son  of  Abijah  and  Naomi  Tyrrell;  he  was 
born  near  Hartford,  Connecticut,  on  May  23,  1798. 
In  early  life  he  showed  the  peculiar  traits  of  a 
character  which  made  him  noted  in  after  years; 
he  was  always  a  steady  lad  attending  closely  to 
his  duties  on  the  farm  and  in  the  common  school 
pursuing  his  studies  with  zeal. 

In  the  beginning  of  the  war  of  1812,  Roswell 
was  too  young  to  enlist  but  later,  when  but  16 
years  of  age,  he  enrolled  in  the  army  and  served 
until  the  close  of  the  war..  The  year  following 
when  he  received  his  discharge  he  returned  to 
Trumbull  county,  Ohio,  which  was  then  his  home 
and  where  he  remained  until  the  spring  of  1819. 
There  being  some  difficulty  in  regard  to  his  dis- 
charge papers,  he  went  on  foot  to  Washington, 
D.  C,  to  have  the  mistake  corrected  and,  after 
having  the  matter  rectified,  he  started  west  on 
loot  intending  to  settle  in  the  State  of  Illinois. 
He  reached  Madison  county  in  the  fall,  remaining 
there  four  years  when  he  moved  to  Fulton  county 
where  on  the  22d  day  of  February,  1823,  near 
i^ewistown,   he  was  married  to  Miss  Mary  Ann 


Sidwell,  with  whom  he  lived  happily  until  death 
called  her  away  in  May,  1828,  leaving  him  with 
one  daughter,  Elizabeth. 

Mr.  Tyrrell  received,  as  a  pension  from  the 
U.  S.  government,  for  service  in  the  war,  a  land 
warrant  for  160  acres  of  land,  which  warrant  he 
sol  oanct  with  the  proceeds  in  1826,  purchased  a 
quarter  section  on  Section  29  in  what  is  now 
Tennessee  township  which  he  held  until  his  death. 

In  the  fall  of  1830  he  came  over  from  Fulton 
county,  erected  his  cabin  and  returned  for  his 
family;  while  he  was  gone  the  big  snow  came  of 
which  so  much  was  heard,  necessitating  his  re- 
maining away  until  the  following  spring  when  he 
returned  and  effected  a  permanent  settlement. 

On  the  8th  of  July  he  was  again  married  to 
Miss  Hannah  Ann  Brooks.  One  daughter,  Eglen- 
tine,  was  born  unto  them.  The  second  Mrs.  Tyr- 
rell died  in  1852. 

In  April,  1849,  in  company  with  several 
others  he  started  on  the  overland  journey  to 
California  in  search  of  gold,  arriving  at  his  des- 
tination  in   about    seven    months.     He    endured 


Page  Nine 


many  hardships  such  as  losing  his  oxen  and  hav- 
ing to  walk  a  great  deal  of  the  latter  part  of  his 
journey,  but  he  returned  home  in  1852,  having 
been  quite  successful  after  reaching  California. 

Mr.  Tyrrell  was  never  a  member  of  a  church 
though  the  second  great  commandment  "To  love 
thy  neighbor  as  thyself"  was  carried  out  to  the 
letter;  no  man  stood  higher  in  the  esteem  of  the 
community  and  no  one  ever  doubted  his  word. 
It  was  said  that  the  cabin  which  he  erected  in 
1830  was  the  first  home  of  nearly  every  family  in 


the  Hills  Grove  settlement  and  no  one  could  pre- 
vail on  him  to  accept  one  cent  for  rent. 

Roswell  Tyrrell  departed  this  life  on  the  13th 
day  of  April,  1872,  being  at  that  time  72  years 
old.  He  left  but  one  daughter,  Mrs.  Ambers  G. 
Owen  to  mourn  his  loss  but  her  grief  was  shared 
by  friends,  neighbors  and  the  citizens  of  the 
county  in  general  and  probably  no  man's  death 
was  more  regretted  than  that  of  Roswell  Tyrrell, 
"The  Old  Pioneer." 


Page  Ten 


hugh  Mcdonough,  senior 


Charles   McDonouch,  Grandson. 


HUGH  McDONOUGH,  SR.,  who  was  born  in 
Ireland  in  1798,  came  to  the  vicinity  of  Hills 
Grove  in  1831  and  lived  with  Roswell  Tyrrell  till 
he  built  his  cabin  on  section  31  in  Tennessee 
township.  He  came  from  Owen  county,  Ken- 
tucky, with  his  wife,  Mary,  and  six  children. 

Cornelius,  the  eldest,  married  Maria  Dim- 
viddy  and  had  five  children,  three  of  whom,  Sam, 
Joseph  and  Catherine  are  deceased ;  Leo  lives  in 
Kansas  City,  Missouri,  and  Mary  Seymore  in 
Salina,  Kansas. 

Hugh  McDonough,  Jr.,  came  to  Hills  Grove 
with  his  parents  when  eight  years  of  age;  he  was 
married  in  April,  1849,  to  Mary  Moore  who  came 
from  Canada.  Five  boys  came  to  this  home:  Leo, 
who  married  Carrie  Saunders,  died  in  1907;  Adol- 
phus  married  Sarah  Morrow  and  died  in  1902 ; 
George  died  in  1923;  Harvey  when  a  baby  and 
Charles,  who  married  Sarah  Broadhead,  is  the 
last  of  this  family. 

Elizabeth  married  William  Sammons  and  had 
one  daughter,  Mary,  who  is  deceased. 

Leo  married  Melvina  Ross  and  to  them  were 


born  three  children,  Walter,  Hugh    and    Katie; 
only  Hugh  is  living  and  is  in  Seattle,  Washington. 

John  married  Mary  Goslin  and  there  were 
five  children  in  their  family ;  Minnie  died  in  young 
womanhood  and  there  are  living  Cornelius,  who 
married  Stella  Thompson;  John,  whose  wife  was 
Nora  Hankins;  Lizzie  Jones  and  Marie  Bagly. 

Sarah  died  when  seventeen  years  of  age. 

Edward  McDonough,  born  in  April,  1832,  was 
the  first  white  child  born  in  this  township;  he 
married  Amanda  Buzan  and  spent  the  greater 
part  of  his  life  in  Macomb.  They  had  three 
children:  William,  who  married  Georgia  Venard, 
Katie  Lawrence  and  Hugh. 

When  the  McDonoughs  came  to  this  country 
it  was  a  wild  wilderness ;  it  was  forty  miles  to  the 
nearest  market,  Quincy  or  Warsaw,  and  the  trip 
which  required  four  days  was  made  with  an  ox 
team. 

In  the  latter  part  of  the  thirties  my  grand- 
father built  a  saw  mill,  which  was  run  by  water 
power,  on  Crooked  Creek  two  miles  north  of  Hills 
Grove  and  a  great  part  of  the  lumber  that  was 


Page  Eleven 


used  in  the  homes  and  other  buildings  of  our  vil- 
lage and  vicinity  came  from  this  mill.  It  was 
one  of  the  first  saw  mills  in  western  Illinois,  was 
manufactured  in  the  East,  brought  by  boat  down 
the  Ohio  and  up  the  Mississippi  rivers  to  Warsaw 


and  hauled  by  oxen  to  the  mill  site.  There  is 
lumber  in  some  of  the  buildings  on  Charles  Mc- 
Donough's  farm  that  was  made  in  this  mill  and  I 
have  one  of  the  wrenches  that  was  used  there. 


Page  Twelve 


JAMES  FULKERSON 


William  S.  Owen,  Grandson. 


JAMES  FULKERSON  was  born  at  Fall  Creek 
near  Jonesboro  in  Washington  county,  Ten- 
nessee, on  June  21,  1797,  and  on  February  18, 
1818,  married  Elizabeth  Hanna  Waddill,  who  was 
born  near  Notichucky  river  in  East  Tennessee  on 
June  21,  1799.  Their  home  was  in  Washington 
county  till  the  fall  of  1831  when  they  loaded  their 
big  schooner  wagon  and  started  for  Illinois.  His 
brother,  Abram  Fulkerson  and  wife  came  with 
them  also  two  young  men,  James  Waddill  and 
Henry  Mears.  James  Fulkerson's  children  at 
this  time  were  Elizabeth,  Charles  and  Mar- 
garet, and  his  wife  rode  horseback  tne  greater 
part  of  the  journey  carrying  Margaret  in  her  lap. 

The  party  arrived  at  Morgan  county,  Illinois, 
where  they  wintered  but  continued  their  journey 
in  the  spring.  On  April  9,  1832,  they  went  into 
camp  on  section  28  of  what  was  afterwards 
named  Tennessee  township  and  located  on  a  part 
of  this  section  and  of  section  29.  The  place  where 
they  camped  and  later  built  their  cabin  is  marked 
by  two  ancient,  ragged,  homely  white-oak  trees 
that  stand  together  in  a  field  east  of  the  railroad 
crossing  that  is  northwest  of  the  W.  W.  Wilson 
home.     The  next  morning,  while  breakfast  was 


being  prepared,  the  boy,  Charles,  spied  a  big 
black  bear  reared  up  on  its  haunches  watching 
the  newcomers ;  the  men  with  guns  and  dogs  gave 
chase,  the  bear  was  soon  killed  and  the  families 
well  supplied  with  meat. 

The  first  sermon  preached  in  this  township 
was  in  the  Fulkerson  home  in  the  spring  of  1832, 
by  Rev.  Valentine  Wilson,  a  Methodist  preacher. 

The  settlers  made  nearly  everything  they 
used  or  wore.  From  the  wool  of  their  sheep  they 
spun  their  yarn  and  on  hand-made  looms  the  yarn 
was  woven  into  blankets  and  cloth  from  which 
their  clothing  was  made.  The  fibre  of  the  flax 
was  spun  and  woven  into  linen  cloth.  They  made 
tneir  ropes  and  twine  of  hemp  fibre.  The  "women 
folks"  did  the  most  of  the  work  of  preparing  the 
nbre  and  wool  which  they  spun,  wove  and  colored, 
as  well  as  sewing  it  oy  band  into  garments.  The 
men  tanned  hides  and  made  the  leather  into 
shoes.  The  farmer  harvested  his  grain  with 
sickle  or  cradle  and  bound  it  by  hand.  To  thresh 
their  wheat  or  rye,  horses  were  shut  in  a  pen  that 
had  a  solid  clean  dirt  floor;  on  this  floor  bundles 
of  grain  had  been  thrown  and  the  horses  kept 
moving  to  tramp  the  grain  out  of  the  straw ;  the 


Page  Thirteen 


wheat  was  shaken  on  a  bed  sheet  on  a  windy  day 
so  that  the  wind  might  blow  the  chaff  away.  The 
wheat  that  was  used  for  the  family  bread  was 
ground  by  a  mill  on  Spoon  river  thirty  or  forty 
miles  away. 

Rattle  snakes  and  other  poisonous  serpents 
were  plentiful  and  did  much  harm  biting  people 
and  killing  stock,  Abram  Fulkerson  being  one 
who  was  bitten  by  a  rattler  which  later  caused 
his  death.     Chills  and  fever  also  played  havoc. 

When  the  Fulkerson's  came  here,  they 
brought  horses  and  cattle  which  in  time  died  from 


snake  bites.  When  the  Waddills,  who  had  been 
their  neighbors  in  Tennessee,  settled  in  the  vicin- 
ity they  sold  to  James  Fulkerson  some  of  their 
black  muley  cows  which  they  brought  with  them 
and  the  William  Owen  family  have  in  their  herd 
at  present  descendants  of  this  same  stock. 

James  Fulkerson  had  several  striking  traits 
of  character;  he  was  very  intelligent,  brave,  in- 
dustrious, persevering,  very  conscientious  and  re- 
ligious. He  and  his  wife  were  the  parents  of  the 
following  children :  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Webb,  Charles 
W.,  Mrs.  Margaret  Owen,  Thomas,  Mrs.  Mary  A. 
Lord  and  Martha. 


Page  Fourteen 


JOHN  WADDILL 


James  M.  Waddill,  Grandson. 


JOHN  WADDILL  was  born  near  Jonesboro, 
Washington  county,  Tennessee,  Oct.  3,  1800. 
His  parents  were  Charles  and  Margaret  (King) 
Waddill,  both  natives  of  the  state  of  Tennessee. 
There  he  was  reared  and  married  to  Elizabeth 
Roiston. 

In  the  fall  of  1833  he  moved  with  his  family 
to  McDonough  county,  Illinois,  and  entered  land 
in  Tennessee  and  Lamoine  townships  and  a  part 
of  this  land  still  belongs  to  his  descendants. 

After  coming  to  this  country,  he  killed  many 
a  deer  which  could  be  found  a  short  distance  from 
his  house.  Grandfather  built  a  two  story  log 
house  south  and  east  of  where  the  Benjamin 
Waddill  house  now  stands  and  on  the  east  side 
of  the  railroad,  which  stood  for  many  years  after 
his  death.     Under  the  stairway  of  this  house  was 


a  closet  in  which  he  would  go,  cloose  the  door  and 
loudly  pray.  He  made  shoes  for  his  family  and  I 
have  a  pair  of  home  made  lasts  which  he  used.  I 
have  his  cane  which  has  a  deer-horn  head  and 
also  the  bail  of  the  bucket  in  which  he  watered 
his  horses  when  coming  to  this  country ;  it  was 
carried  hanging  under  the  wagon. 

He  died  in  1877.  The  children  were  Sarah, 
who  married  Thomas  Sammons;  Margaret,  who 
became  Mrs.  Marvin  Cook;  Rachel,  married 
Thomas  Griffitts ;  Charles  W. ;  Susan,  who  mar- 
ried William  Cook;  John  Wesley,  who  died  in 
1858,  and  Benjamin.  There  was  one  step-sister, 
Mrs.  Jane  Morrow  Hughes,  and  her  brother,  Sam- 
uel Morrow  and  also  Thornton  and  Richard  Broad- 
head;  Samuel  was  a  young  man  and  Thornton 
was  seven  years  old  when  their  mother  married 
John  Waddill. 


Charles   Waddill. 


CHARLES  W.  WADDILL  was  born  in  1830  in 
the  same  place  where  his  father  was  born, 
and  came  to  this  county  when  three  years  of  age. 
In  1860  he  bought  land  in  section  32  of  Tennessee 


township  and  lived  there  all  his  life.     He  attended 
tne  Hills  Grove  Seminary  for  a  time. 

Like  all  pioneers  ne  had  many  hardships.     I 


Page  Fifteen 


have  heard  father  say  that  when  he  was  a  child 
they  went  bare  foot  till  winter;  when  going  for 
tne  cows  on  a  cold,  frosty  morning,  if  they  found 
them  lying  down,  they  would  drive  them  up  and 
stand  on  the  ground  where  the  cows  had  been 
lying  to  warm  their  feet. 

In  1860  he  was  married  to  Nancy  Lawyer, 
daughter  of  Michael  Lawyer,  one  of  the  pioneers 
01  Tennessee  township;  their  married  life  lasted 
forty  years  and  in  that  time  they  never  spent  a 
Sunday  apart.  The  mothers  of  those  times  had 
various  duties  unknown  to  the  present  genera- 
tion, such  as  spinning  tne  yarn  and  knitting  socks 
for  the  family,  making   rag   carpets    and    tallow 


candles.     I    have    the    candle    molds    which    my 
mother  used. 

Father  worked  some  at  grading  on  the  Chi- 
cago, Burlington  &  Quincy  railroad,  when  it  was 
being  ouilt  through  his  farm.  Father  and  moth- 
er lived  on  this  same  farm  till  their  death. 
Mother  died  in  1900,  aged  62  and  father  in  1917, 
aged  87. 

Their  children  are  James  M.  and  John  W.,  of 
Tennessee,  and  William  M.,  of  Centerville,  Miss- 
issippi. There  was  also  a  niece  who  lived  in 
their  home,  Mrs.  Mina  Griffitts  Roberts. 


Benjamin  Waddill. 


BENJAMIN  WADDILL  was  born  May  9,  1834, 
and  the  McDonough  county  history  of  1885 
says  "on  the  farm  owned  by  V.  B.  Gilchrist  where 
his  father's  family  lived  for  a  short  time  after 
coming  to  this  county  from  the  state  of  Tennes- 
see." 

In  1861  he  was  married  to  Margaret  Lawyer. 
Charles  and  Benjamin  were  brothers  and  married 
sisters,  lived  on  adjoining  farms  all  their  lives 
and  are  now  lying  side  by  side  in  the  King  ceme- 
tery. They  were  never  apart  from  each  other 
for  longer  than  a  week  in  their  lives.     Together 


they  cut  the  timber  from  their  land  and  broke  it 
with  oxen  and  it  was  while  they  were  breaking 
this  ground  that  Benjamin  was  bitten  on  the 
thumb  by  a  rattle  snake. 

Benjamin  Waddill  died  on  this  farm  which 
had  once  been  his  fathers  at  the  age  of  84.  His 
wife  died  in  February,  1903. 

When  he  had  passed  the  three  score  and  ten 
years  he  united  with  the  Christian  church  and  his 
church  work  was  a  great  pleasure  to  him.  He 
was    interesting  in  his    conversation,    was    very 


Page  Sixteen 


fond  of  his  horses  and  kept  a  good  herd  of  regis- 
tered cattle. 

They    had    four    daughters:      Mrs.     Callie 


Brickell  and  Mrs.  Anna  Vaughn  are  now  de- 
ceased; Mrs.  Emma  Flynn,  who  resides  in  Ma- 
comb, 111. ;  and  Mrs.  Ella  Riley,  of  Colmar,  111. 


Page  Seventeen 


CHARLES  WESLEY  WADDILL 


Mrs.  Candace  Waddill  Gallaher,  Granddaughter. 


WESLEY  WADDILL  was  a  younger  brother 
of  John  Waddill  and  his  birth  on  July  16, 
1813,  was  at  their  old  home  place  in  Tennessee. 
In  1833  the  family  were  on  their  way  to  Illinois 
and  while  camped  near  Beardstown  witnessed 
that  wonderful  meteoric  display  on  the  night  of 
the  12th  of  November  which  has  made  that  date 
memorable. 

His  father  Charles  Waddill,  who  died  in  1852, 
came  with  him  and  chose  the  location  on  section 
32  in  Tennessee  township  which  was  the  home  of 
some  member  of  the  family  for  over  eighty  yeai-s. 

Mr.  Waddill  knew  the  hardships  of  the  early 
settler  but  by  careful  saving  became  the  owner  of 
400  acres  of  land.  It  has  been  said  that  no  one 
ever  asked  him  for  a  favor  and  was  refused.  He 
held  tne  respect  of  all  who  knew  him.  He  was 
familiarly  known  as  Colonel  Waddill  because  of 
being  commander  of  a  company  of  riflemen  which 
met  at  Hills  Grove  for  drill.  He  was  also  a  physi- 
cian and  was  successful  in  his  practice. 

On  December  2,  1845  he  was  united  in  mar- 
riage with  Mary  E.,    daughter    of    Michael    and 


Sarah  (Parker)  Lawyer;  she  was  born  in  Fayette 
county,  Ohio,  in  1825  and  came  with  her  parents 
to  Illinois  in  1837.  After  the  death  of  her  hus- 
band which  occurred  April  9,  1857,  she  remained 
on  the  farm  and  proved  herself  a  capable  business 
woman.  She  was  a  thoughtful  friend  and  neigh- 
bor and  when  sickness  was  in  other  homes  they 
often  came  for  Aunt  Mary  (as  she  was  generally 
called)  before  sending  for  a  doctor.  When  her 
children  had  moved  to  their  own  homes,  she  lived 
with  her  daughter  for  the  remaining  twenty- 
eight  years  of  her  life.  She  died  February  16, 
1907,  when  82  years  of  age. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Waddill  were  the  parents  of 
four  children:  Sarah  S.  was  born  Dec.  8,  1846, 
and  died  April  5,  1917;  on  May  9,  1867,  she  mar- 
ried J.  D.  Tabler  who  still  survives  her.  Charles 
R.,  whose  birth  was  on  March  8,  1850,  died  Jan. 
3,  1921 ;  on  Aug.  18,  1887,  he  was  married  to 
Hannah  E.  Follen,  who  died  Jan.  26,  1907.  Michael 
L.  was  born  March  20,  1852,  and  died  Feb.  17, 
1890;  he  was  married  on  Oct.  5,  1876,  to  Joe 
Annah  Hughes  who  is  now  living  in  California. 
On  August  27,  1855,  was  the  birth  of  Thomas  W., 
and  his  death  on  May  10,  1909;  he  was  married 


Page  Eighteen 


Oct.  24,  1878  to  Louie  Phillips  who  died  April  19, 
1921,  and  three  years  later  he  was  again  married 
to  Ida  Jenkins  who  lives  with  her  brother,  James 
near  Tennessee. 

There  was  also  in  the  home  of  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Wesley  Waddill  a  sister,  Miss  Rachael,  who  is 
affectionately  remembered  by  all  who  knew  her. 
She  was  often  found  wherever  help  was  needed 
because  of  sickness  and  would  stay  for  weeks  if 
necessary.     She  always  refused  pay  for  her  work 


because  she  felt  it  was  her  Christian  duty  to  care 
for  those  who  were  suffering. 

She  was  often  busy  with  her  needle,  her 
spinning  wheel  and  loom,  and  the  beautiful  quilts 
and  counterpanes  which  she  made  are  much 
prized  by  members  of  her  family. 

She  loved  her  flower  garden  and  there  are  to- 
day roses  and  hardy  phlox  at  the  old  homestead 
that  whisper  each  recurring  spring  of  the  life 
which  her  relatives  love  to  remember. 


Page  Ninete<  n 


ISAAC  CLARK  WEBB 


Thomas  I.  Webb,  Son. 


ISAAC  WEBB  was  born  near  Rutland,  Vermont, 
Sept.  27,  1815.  His  parents  were  George  W. 
and  Priscilla  (Clark)  Webb.  He  came  to  Illinois 
in  1834  and  taught  school  for  a  time.  In  August, 
1843,  he  married  Elizabeth  King  Fulkerson, 
daughter  of  James  and  Elizabeth  Fulkerson,  who 
was  born  near  Knoxville,  Tennessee,  Nov.  16, 
1820,  coming  with  her  parents  to  Illinois  when 
eleven  years  of  age ;  she  was  also  a  school  teacher. 

After  their  marriage,  father  engaged  in 
farming ;  he  was  also  a  carpenter  and  cabinet  mak- 
er, often  making  coffins  as  there  were  no  casket 
factories  then.  These  caskets  were  made  of  wal- 
nut, smoothed,  polished,  varnished,  put  together 
with  screws  and  lined  with  plain  white  cambric 
tacked  onto  the  wood;  no  pretty  lace  or  fluffy 
white  silk-  lining  as  we  have  today. 

Grandfather  Fulkerson's  family  were  strictly 
religious  and  the  circuit  rider,  on  horse-back  car- 
rying saddle  bags  (which  contained  his  clothes 
and  bible),  always  found  a  welcome  at  their  cabin 
home.  The  religious  services  were  greatly  en- 
joyed by  the  settlers,  some  of  whom  came  many 
miles.  Peter  Cartwright  often  preached  in  this 
home  and  spent  the  night  there..     As  money  was 


scarce  they  had  none  for  the  circuit-rider  but  re- 
warded him  with  something  substantial  on  these 
memorable  visits;  sometimes  it  would  be  bacon, 
a  ham  or  a  sack  of  flour;  sometimes  a  suit  of 
clothes  made  of  homespun  by  these  careful  house- 
wives and  colored  with  walnut  hulls,  sumac  ber- 
ries and  indigo;  a  long  tedious  process  that  the 
present  generation  know  nothing  about. 

Some  wild  animals  still  found  a  hiding  place 
in  the  timber.  I  remember  mother  telling  that 
when  she  and  father  were  coming  home  one  night 
from  grandfather's,  they  heard  stealthy  steps 
and  knew  some  animal  was  following.  When 
they  stopped  to  listen  the  steps  would  stop  and 
when  they  walked  into  the  moonlight  they  saw  a 
lynx.  Since  they  were  carrying  a  little  child  they 
hastened  home  even  then  putting  a  lighted  candle 
in  the  window  which  sent  the  intruder  back  to 
the  woods.  There  were  also  wildcats  and  wolves 
which  caused  much  uneasiness  to  the  settlers. 

Father's  family  moved  to  Galesburg  in  the 
spring  of  1867,  where  he  died  December  23,  1877, 
and  mother  died  October  24,  1887.  Patience 
S toner  died  in  1881  and  John,  her  twin  brother, 
in  1872.       Charles  L.  died  in  1884.       These    are 


Page  Twenty 


buried  in  Hope  cemetery  in  Galesburg.  George 
W.,  the  oldest,  born  June  20,  1844,  heard  the  call 
for  volunteers  in  the  war  of  the  rebellion,  enlisted 
December  12,  18G1,  and  was  No.  4  in  Co.  A.  of 
Yates  Sharp  Shooters;  was  in  the  service  at  New 
Madrid,  Island  No.  10,  Fort  Pillow,  Pittsburg 
Landing,  through  the  long  siege  of  Corinth  and 
in  the  battle  of  Iuka.  After  the  hardships  of  the 
siege  he  was  sick  but  recovered  in  time  to  take 
part  in  the  battle  of  Corinth.  He  died  of  typhoid 
pneumonia  November  17,  1862,  at  the  hospital  in 
Corinth  and  is  buried  in  the  National  cemetery  at 
that  place.  He  gave  his  life  for  his  country  when 
only  18  years  of  age.  James  F.  Webb,  born  Feb- 
ruary 23,  1846,  was  a  locomotive  engineer  for 
over  forty-three  years,  retiring  on  a  pension 
given  by  the  Santa  Fe  and  died  November  12, 
1910,  six  months  later  at  Wichita,  Kansas;  he  was 
buried  in  Fort  Madison,  Iowa. 


Eliza  Ross  Webb,  born  August  15,  1853,  wife 
of  J.  H.  Drury,  died  in  Los  Angeles,  California, 
and  is  buried  in  beautiful  Rosemont  cemetery  of 
that  city  where  flowers  bloom  and  birds  sing  all 
the  year.  Martha  Lutheria,  born  June  18,  1858, 
married  S.  Ervin  and  died  October  15,  1911,  in 
Wichita,  Kansas,  and  is  buried  there.  Harry 
Clark  Webb,  born  August  3,  1863,  died  at  Albu- 
uerque,  New  Mexico,  February  15,  1925;  he  was 
tne  youngest  of  the  family.  Of  this  large  family 
of  twelve  children  only  two  are  left:  Mary  M.,  of 
Wichita,  Kansas,  who  was  the  wife  of  George  H. 
Ervin,  deceased,  and  Thomas  I.  Webb,  of  Hills 
Grove. 

Father,  mother  and  ten  children  have  crossed 
over  to  the  other  side.  "We  are  going  down  the 
valley  one  by  one." 


Pa^e  Tvventv-One 


REV.  JAMES  KING 


John  Richard  King,  Grandson. 


REV.  JAMES  KING  was  born  April  13,  1778,  at 
Harrisburg,  Pennsylvania,  and  was  the  son 
of  Thomas  and  Elizabeth  King,  who  sailed  from 
Dublin  in  1755.  He  was  educated  at  Middletown, 
Pennsylvania,  completing  his  common  school 
studies,  together  with  geometry,  trigonometry 
and  surveying  in  his  17th  year.  With  his  par- 
ents he  moved  to  Jonesboro,  Tennessee,  in  1795, 
and  prepared  himself  for  the  ministry.  In  1806 
he  was  placed  in  charge  of  a  circuit  at  Chillicothe, 
Ohio,  by  Dr.  Tiffin,  a  Methodist  minister,  who  was 
then  governor  of  the  state  of  Ohio. 

November  7,  1810,  Rev.  King  was  made  an 
elder  by  Bishop  McKendree.  He  was  married  to 
Miss  Lydia  Tilton  at  Lexington,  Kentucky,  while 
he  was  a  circuit  rider.  They  moved  to  the  state 
of  Tennessee  where  they  remained  more  than 
twenty  years.  On  December  24,  1831,  he  was 
admitted  to  the  practice  of  medicine.  He  moved 
to  the  vicinity  of  Hills  Grove,  McDonough  county, 
Illinois,  October  18,  1835,  and  on  November  7, 
of  the  same  year  entered  the  southwest  quarter 


of  section  four,  Lamoine  township,  for  which  a 
patent  was  issued  to  him  on  October  10,  1840,  by 
Martin  Van  Buren,  then  president  of  the  United 
States.  Rev.  King  resided  on  this  land  until 
1846  when  he  removed  to  Prairie  City  and  Bush- 
nell  townships. 

The  administrators  of  his  estate  sold  the 
land  in  Lamoine  township  to  Thomas  Tabler,  later 
owned  by  J.  D.  Tabler  and  at  present  by  his  son, 
Herbert  Tabler,  and  daughter,  Mrs.  Louise 
Sweasy.  Rev.  King  reserved  the  plot  of  ground 
in  the  northeast  corner  known  as  the  King  grave 
yard  in  which  James  King,  his  son,  is  buried. 
Rev.  and  Mrs.  King's  family  consisted  of  five  sons 
and  two  daughters:  Thomas,  Richard  Tilton, 
James,  John  W.,  Clark,  Mrs.  David  Kepple,  and 
Mrs.  J.  F.  Tannehill. 

Rev.  James  King,  one  of  the  pioneer  preach- 
ers of  Illinois,  and  his  good  wife  were  greatly  in- 
terested in  the  building  up  of  the  churches  and 
schools. 


Page  Twenty -Two 


ISAAC  HOLTON 


Julia  Holton   Ferris,  Daughter. 


ISAAC  HOLTON  was  born  March  13,  1790,  at 
Westminster,  Vermont;  was  married  January 
5,  1827,  to  Phoebe  Arnold,  daughter  of  Seth  and 
Esther  Ranney  Arnold,  born  January  29,  1798,  at 
Westminster,  Vermont. 

Mr.  HoRcn  prepared  for  college  at  the  Aca- 
demy of  Deerneld,  Massachusetts,  and  was  gradu- 
ated from  the  university  of  Vermont  at  Burling- 
ton in  1814.  While  a  student  here  he  saw  the 
land  and  naval  battle  at  Plattsburg  and  on  Lake 
Champlain.  Among  his  classmates  were  Con- 
stantine  Gilman,  Isaac  Moore  and  Erastus  Root, 
M.  D.  He  read  law  with  his  brother,  John,  in 
Springfield,  Vermont,  and  later  with  the  Hon. 
William  C.  Bi*adley,  of  Westminster.  After  a 
brief  law  practice  he  accepted  a  position  as  teach- 
er, in  which  profession  he  was  eminently  success- 
ful. He  commenced  teaching  as  principal  of  the 
academy  at  Chester,  Vermont,  and  successfully 
filled  the  same  position  in  South  Berwick  and 
Limerick,  Maine,  and  Bellows  Falls,  Vermont. 

Having  purchased  some  tracts  of  land  called 
"Patent  Quarters"  in  McDonough  county,  Illinois, 
he  decided  to  emigrate  to  the  then  "Far  West." 


In  September,  1835,  he  left  Vermont  with  his 
family,  accompanied  also  by  his  brother,  William, 
wnose  children,  John  and  Isabel,  came  with  him. 
Isabel  helped  mother  with  the  children.  Mother 
carried  Charles  on  a  pillow  all  the  way.  With  a 
one-horse  wagon  driven  by  the  nephew  and  a  two- 
horse  wagon  which  contained  supplies  for  the  trip 
and  the  new  home,  they  undertook  the  long  and 
perilous  journey,  lasting  fourteen  weeks,  reaching 
their  future  home  December  15,  1835.  They 
found  on  the  land  an  unoccupied  log  cabin  of 
which  they  took  possession.  It  was  perhaps 
eighteen  feet  square,  one  room,  a  clapboard  roof, 
puncheon  floor,  no  windows,  light  coming  in  by 
the  door  when  open.  Fortunately  that  winter 
was  a  very  mild  one.  A  little  light  came  through 
tne  poorly  chinked  logs  and  mother  said  she  could 
see  the  stars  through  holes  in  the  roof.  After 
the  long  and  trying  journey,  they  were  glad  to 
find  any  place  they  could  call  home. 

Our  family  at  this  time  consisted  of  father, 
mother  and  four  children,  Seth,  Rebecca,  John  and 
Charles.  I  was  born  the  following  March.  Many 
years  passed  before  we  had  anything  but  the  bare 

necessities  of  life. 


Page  Twenty-Three 


As  soon  as  the  seminary  was  completed, 
father  began  teaching  the  school,  having  pupils 
from  the  primer  to  the  higher  branches,  even 
having  a  number  who  came  from  other  localities. 
He  was  also  made  postmaster,  which  was  a  great 
convenience  as  heretofore  we  had  "received  our 
mail  from  a  neighboring  town.  Macomb,  twelve 
miles  away  was  the  county  seat  and  much  busi- 
ness was  done  there,  but  Warsaw  was  the  nearest 
trading  point.  There  were  occasional  church 
services  by  ministers  from  nearby  towns  and  later 
the  Methodist  circuit  riders  came  at  stated  times. 
Each  family  took  its  turn  in  entertaining  the  min- 
ister. A  Congregational  church  was  formed  and 
Sabbath  school  regularly  sustained. 

After  teaching  there  for  twelve  years,  a  com- 
mittee from  Carthage  urged  father  to  come  there 
to  teach,  which  he  did.  When  we  moved  to  Car- 
thage, Mrs.  Minerva  Holton  Gilchrist,  a  niece  of 
father's,  was  appointed  postmistress,  which  office 
she  held  until  it  was  abandoned  as  too  small  to  be 
maintained.  She  was  the  first  woman  to  hold 
that  position  in  this  part  of  the  country. 

Father  taught  in  Carthage  one  year,  after 
which  failing  health  compelled  him  to  give  up 
teaching  altogether.  He  returned  to  his  oid  home 
where  he  lingered  in  failing  health  for  two  years, 
the  end  coming  June  26,  1850,  at  60  years  of  age. 


My  father  was  a  very  religious  man,  very 
strict  in  his  observance  of  the  Sabbath — Sunday 
commenced  at  six  o'clock  Saturday  night.  After 
the  necessary  chores  were  done,  all  but  the  indis- 
pensable cooking  and  house  work  was  dispensed 
with.  If  mail  was  received  late  Saturday  even- 
ing, it  was  laid  away  unopened  until  Monday 
morning.  At  that  time  there  was  a  great  preju- 
dice against  eastern  people,  "Yankees,"  but 
father's  interest  in  the  children  and  young  people 
disarmed  their  distrust  and  eventually  they 
joined  with  him  in  his  plan  for  the  betterment  of 
conditions. 

I  remember  Indians  (probably  Sacs  and 
Foxes)  on  their  way  to  their  reservation  talking 
with  father.  It  is  supposed  that  a  certain  place 
west  of  our  home  had  been  their  camping  ground, 
for  arrow  heads,  stone  hatchets  and  other  Indian 
implements  have  been  found  there.  A  company 
of  young  bucks  rode  through  our  yard  and  garden 
helping  themselves  to  whatever  they  wished. 
Rebecca  snatched  me  up  and  hid  in  a  closet  under 
the  stairs  until  she  thought  it  safe  to  come  out. 
They  were  friendly  Indians  and  as  father 
showed  himself  friendly,  there  was  no  more  tres- 
passing. 

Our  family  consisted  of  seven  children:  Seth 
Arnold,  Rebecca  Ranney,  John  Ambrose,  Charles 


Page  Twenty-Four 


Augustus,  Julia  Esther,  Anna  Phoebe  and  Joel 
Alexander.  Anna  died  at  the  age  of  nine  and 
Joel  at  twenty.  The  three  brothers  served  in  the 
Civil  War.  Seth  and  John  were  connected  with 
the  Medical  Depository  at  Washington,  D.  C. 
After  the  war,  Seth  had  a  position  in  the  Pension 
Department  at  Washington    for  a  great    many 


years  and  died  at  the  home  of  his  sister,  Julia 
Holton  Ferris,  at  Carthage,  Illinois,  in  1908. 
John  became  a  dentist  and  died  in  1873  in  Arkan- 
sas. Charles  was  a  minister  in  the  United  Breth- 
ern  church  and  died  in  1887  in  Blackstone,  Illi- 
nois. Rebecca,  who  married  Rev.  Joseph  Mason, 
died  in  Godfrey,  Illinois,  in  1881. 


Page  Twenty-Five 


ANDREW  JOSEPHUS  WALKER 


Mrs.  Mary  Walker  Thompson,  Daughter. 


ANDREW  WALKER  and  Elizabeth  Caroline 
Taylor  were  married  February  16,  1837,  at 
the  home  of  the  bride's  aunt,  Mrs.  Nancy  Ann 
Brooks,  near  Springfield,  Hampshire  county,  West 
Virginia.  The  large  stone  house  in  which  the 
ceremony  was  performed  is  still  standing. 

Mr.  Walker  had  made  a  trip  to  Illinois  in 
1836  and  entered  a  claim  for  government  land,  so 
he  and  his  bride  started  at  once  for  the  west. 
They  made  the  journey  in  a  large,  blue,  boat- 
shaped,  covered  wagon,  with  heavy  tires. 

When  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Walker  arrived  at  Hills 
Grove,  they  stayed  at  the  home  of  "Uncle  Abe 
rulkerson'  while  their  cabin  was  being  built  one 
and  one-fourth  miles  north  of  the  seminary. 

This  log  cabin  had  two  doors  and  two  win- 
dows, the  doors  opening  with  the  proverbial  latch- 
string  which  was  pulled  in  at  night.  They  moved 
into  this  cabin  before  the  doors  were  hung  and 
Mrs.  Walker  often  spoke  of  her  terror  at  night  as 
she  listened  to  the  wolves  howl  when  only  a 
blanket  was  hung  over  the  door  for  protection. 
She  thought  of  the  pack  of  wolves  that  had 
chased  Elijah  Tyrrell  up  a  tree  and  of  the  bear 


and  panther  some  one  had  killed.  Prairie  wolves 
used  to  eat  crumbs  and  scraps  around  the  cabin 
door. 

Gradually  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Walker  added  to  the 
comforts  of  their  pioneer  home.  They  made 
their  own  furniture:  chairs  with  hickory  bark 
seats,  tables,  two  beds  and  a  trundle  bed.  Spun 
cotton,  made  into  five-pound  bunches,  was  pur- 
chased and  colored  and  woven  into  cloth  from 
which  garments  for  the  family  were  made. 

As  the  children  came,  they  all  enjoyed  gath- 
ering around  the  large  stone  fireplace  with  its 
chimney  made  from  sod  cut  from  the  prairie; 
here  they  cracked  nuts  and  parched  corn. 

Eleven  children  were  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Walker,  among  them  being  three  pairs  of  twins. 
Those  born  in  the  cabin  home  were  Mary,  Wil- 
liam, James  and  John  (twins),  Henry  and  Annie 
(twins),  Martha  and  Margaret.  William,  John 
and  Annie  died  there. 

In  1852  a  frame  house  was  built  in  a  grove 
of  hickory  trees  a  short  distance  east  of  the  cabin 
home  on  section  20.  This  house  had  windows 
with  the  numerous  window  panes  found  in  colo- 


Page  Twenty-Six 


lonial  homes,  there  being  twelve  windows  with 
twelve  panes  each.  Here  Brainard  and  Isabella 
(twins)  and  Henrietta  were  born  and  on  this  spot 
Henry  lived  continuously  from  1852  until  his 
death  ten  years  ago. 

Mary,  James,  Henry,  Martha  and  Margaret 
attended  the  Hills  Grove  seminary  and  Mary, 
who  is  87  years  old,  is  the  only  one  living  today. 
She  remembers  well  the  great  respect  they  all 
had  for  their  teachers,  how  the  boys  all  removed 
their  hats  or  caps  and  made  a  polite  bow,  and  the 
girls  took  hold  of  their  skirts  and  made  a  courtesy 
when  they  entered  the  door. 


First  thing  in  the  morning  a  chapter  was 
read  from  the  bible  and  prayer  was  offered  by  the 
teacher.  Water  was  carried  from  a  neighboring 
well  and  it  was  considered  a  great  privilege  to  be 
allowed  to  go  for  water  and  pass  it  around  in  the 
school.  All  drank  from  the  same  dipper  and 
were  well  and  happy  in  those  days  before  germs 
were  discovered. 

There  are  still  living  of  this  family,  Mrs. 
Mary  S.  Thompson,  of  Galesburg,  111.,  Brainard, 
of  Kansas  City,  and  Mrs.  Isabella  Glasgow,  of 
near  Good  Hope,  111. 


Page  Twenty-Seven 


CHARLES  GRANDISON  GILCHRIST 


Mrs.  Alice  Ferris  Martin,  Granddaughter. 


CHARLES  G.  GILCHRIST  was  born  in  Walpole, 
New  Hampshire  on  May  27,  1802.  His  par- 
ents were  Samuel  and  Betsey  Allen  Gilchrist,  she 
being  a  niece  of  Colonel  Ethan  Allen,  famous  for 
his  deeds  in  the  Revolutionary  War.  He  married 
Miss  Minerva  Holton  on  December  31,  1829.  She 
was  born  October  18,  1805  at  Westminster,  Ver- 
month  and  was  a  descendant  of  Edward  Winslow 
who  came  to  America  from  England  a  short  time 
after  the  Mayflower  brought  the  original  Puritan 
forefathers  here.  He  had  a  brother  who  came 
over  on  that  ship.  While  Miss  Holton  lived  in 
her  native  state  she  taught  school  and  received 
as  her  wages  one  dollar  per  week  and  "boarded 
round." 

This  husband  and  wife  first  settled  in  Sax- 
ton's  River,  Vermont,  remaining  there  until 
1837,  when  they  departed  for  Illinois  by  team  and 
wagon  with  their  lamily  which  then  consisted  of 
Helen  Minerva,  born  uctooer  23,  1831,  at  Saxton's 
River;  Charles  Allen  born  February  13,  1834,  at 
the  same  place  and  David  Van  Brugh  who  was 
born  April  11,  1836,  at  Westminster.  Upon  their 
arrival  in  Illinois  the  family  settled  at  Hills  Grove 
in  McDonough  county.     Later  two  more  children 


were  born:  Erastus,  on  September  8,  1839,  at 
Hills  Grove  and  Edward  who  was  born  on  January 
18,  1846,  at  Westminster,  Vermont. 

The  first  home  in  Illinois  was  a  log  cabin  and 
later  the  family  lived  for  one  year  in  a  two-story 
house  in  that  community  owned  by  a  Rev.  Wil- 
liams. They  then  built  a  house  called  the  red 
nouse  and  after  a  few  years  a  frame  house,  a  part 
of  which  still  stands. 

Erastus  died  at  the  age  of  eleven  years,  Octo- 
ber 24,  18ol. 

All  of  the  children  attended  school  at  the 
seminary  in  their  early  days  and  four  of  them 
went  to  school  at  different  places  away  from  their 
home. 

Helen  departed  for  New  York  City  when  she 
was  twelve  years  old  in  company  with  a  Mrs. 
Dowd.  In  New  York  she  attended  a  school  for 
young  ladies,  making  her  home  with  her  aunt, 
Miriam,  a  sister  of  Mrs.  Gilchrist.  In  her  letters 
during  that  time  (which  are  still  kept)  she  writes 
of  having  seen  Tom  Thumb,  of  hearing  Jennie 
Lind  sing  and  also  tells  of  studying  French,  paint- 


Page  Twcnty-Eight 


ing,  music,  dancing  and  of  her  other  studies.  She 
returned  to  her  home  in  Illinois  in  1849.  The 
piano,  which  her  aunt  had  given  her,  was  shipped 
by  sailing  vessel  to  New  Orleans,  up  the  Mississ- 
ippi to  Warsaw  and  taken  by  wagon  to  the  home 
at  Hills  Grove.  This  was  the  first  piano  in  Mc- 
Donough  county  and  people  came  miles  to  see  it 
and  hear  "Haste  to  the  Wedding,"  "Campbells  are 
Coming,"  "Flow  Gently  Sweet  Afton,"  and  other 
melodies  which  she  played;  il  is  greatly  prized, 
being  now  owned  by  her  daughter,  Mrs.  Lelia 
Lionberger.  Later  Helen  attended  for  a  time  a 
boarding  school  which  was  conducted  by  Miss 
Doty.  On  May  23,  1850,  she  was  married  to  Dr. 
Leonard  T.  Ferris,  of  Fountain  Green,  Illinois; 
she  lived  here  the  greater  portion  of  her  life,  mov- 
ing to  Carthage,  Illinois,  after  her  husband's 
death  and  dying  there  on  April  8,  1912. 

Charles  Allen  attended  school  in  New  York 
City  and  also  at  Knox  College  in  Galesburg,  Illi- 
nois. At  the  beginning  of  the  war  he  enlisted  in 
the  Union  Army  and  remained  in  the  service  until 
the  end,  during  which  time  he  was  advanced  to 
the  rank  of  Brigadier  General.  After  receiving 
his  discharge  he  followed  the  profession  of  a  civil 
engineer,  surveying  many  of  the  railroads  which 
pass  through  this  and  other  parts  of  the  country ; 
one  of  them   being  the    Chicago,    Burlington   & 


Quincy  which  passes  near  his  old  home.  On 
October  1,  1857,  he  was  married  to  Lucy  Ellen 
Walker.     He  died  January  3,  1906. 

Van  Brugh  attended  school  with  his  brother, 
Charles,  in  New  York  City,  going  there  when  he 
was  thirteen  years  of  age  and  remaining  three 
years.  In  1854  when  eighteen  years  old,  he 
joined  a  company  starting  for  the  gold  fields  of 
California;  he  helped  in  driving  a  large  herd  of 
sheep  across  country;  he  returned  after  seven 
years  to  his  old  home  at  Hills  Grove,  where  he 
bought  the  farm  on  which  he  lived  the  remainder 
of  his  life.  On  December  4,  1862,  he  was  married 
to  Miss  Sarah  A.  Robinson.  He  died  March  8, 
1914. 

Edward  M.  Gilchrist  attended  school  at  Hills 
Grove  and  later  at  Milwaukee,  Wisconsin.  On 
July  16,  18G2,  when  sixteen  years  old  he  ran  away 
from  home,  enlisted  in  the  Union  Army  and  dur- 
ing his  service  was  made  Captain.  When  in 
camp  at  Vicksburg  he  was  so  ill  with  typhoid  that 
he  was  thought  to  be  dead  and  his  measure  taken 
for  a  coffin;  his  brother,  Charles,  was  notified, 
took  charge  of  the  case  and  nursed  him  back  to 
health.  He  was  later  a  civil  engineer  and  was 
with  the  Chicago,  Burlington  &  Quincy  in  various 
capacities  for  thirty-one  years.  On  December 
25,  1866,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Mary  J.  Botts, 


Page  Twenty-Nine 


who  died  in  1881 ;  later  he  married  Miss  Lucretia 
Allton.  Edward  Gilchrist  died  July  16,  1910,  be- 
ing killed  in  a  railroad  accident. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Charles  G.  Gilchrist  lived  at 
Hills  Grove  on  their  farm  the  remainder  of  their 


lives. 
1874. 


Mr.  Gilchrist  died  in  1882  and  his  wife  in 


It  can  be  truly  said  of  them  that  they  and 
their  children  proved  to  be  good  citizens,  respect- 
ed and  honored  by  all  of  their  friends  and  ac- 
quaintances. 


Page  Thirty 


ASAL  OWEN 


William  S.  Owen,  Grandson. 


DR.  ASAL  OWEN,  an  early  resident  of  Hills 
Grove  settlement,  was  born  near  Kenton  Sta- 
tion, later  called  Washington,  the  county  seat  of 
Mason  county,  Kentucky,  on  December  8,  1792. 
His  father,  William  Owen  had  a  good  friend  named 
Whittlesey  who  was  a  government  agent  to  the 
Shawnee  Indians  who  were  then  on  a  reservation 
in  Ohio.  This  Whittlesey  sent  word  to  the  Owen 
family  and  some  of  their  neighbors  that  if  they 
would  come  to  him  he  would  help  them  get  some 
extra  hne  land;  so  Asal  Owen's  parents  and  an 
uncle,  also  two  men  named  Taylor  and  Moody 
loaded  their  families,  with  a  few  household  goods, 
into  wagons  and  started  to  Ohio.  They  located 
near  Nettle  Creek  in  Champaign  county  among 
the  Indians.  Asal  Owen's  playmates  were  for 
the  most  part  Indian  boys;  he  learned  their  lan- 
guage and  became  skilled  with  a  gun  and  in  hunt- 
ing and  fishing.  The  medicine  man  taught  him 
the  plants  and  barks  they  used  for  medicine  and 
the  diseases  they  would  cure. 

In  spite  of  his  surroundings  he  craved  an 
education  and  determined  to  get  one.  He  was 
nearly  grown  when  he  began  to  study  in  earnest, 
but  by  patient,  persistent  effort  he  gained  a 
praiseworthy  measure  of  learning;  ne  studied 
medicine  with  a  Dr.  Lester  and  became  a  physic 


cian.  He  was  an  ordained  Baptist  preacher.  He 
was  a  "book  worm"  and  the  lure  of  writing  both 
prose  and  poetry,  was  upon  him. 

He  was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Eliza- 
beth Cowden  Grafton,  a  daughter  of  Thomas 
Grafton  of  St.  Paris,  Champaign  county,  Ohio,  on 
July  13,  1815.  In  1836  or  1837  Asal  Owen  and 
family  moved  from  Ohio  into  Indiana  and  from 
there  to  Illinois.  They  arrived  at  Graves  Mill, 
Hancock  county,  in  1840;  in  a  short  time  crossed 
over  the  line  into  the  Hills  Grove  settlement  and 
this  was  their  home  till  death  claimed  them.  He 
served  as  pastor  of  various  Baptist  societies  in 
this  and  adjoining  counties.  Wherever  he  lived 
he  faithfully  followed  his  calling  of  preaching  the 
Gospel  and  doctoring  sick  folks. 

Asal  Owen  and  wife  were  the  parents  of  the 
following  children:  Mrs.  Hester  Ann  Burdick, 
Mrs.  Louisa  Tabler,  Mrs.  Sarah  Salisbury,  Bethel, 
Ambers,  William,  Mrs.  Lavina  Fulkerson,  Thom- 
as, Mrs.  Elizabeth  Poling,  Mrs.  Nina  Sidwell  and 
Asa  Kenton  Owen.  The  youngest  son,  who  died 
at  his  home  in  Lake  Geneva,  Wisconsin,  two  years 
ago,  was  gifted  with  his  pen  and  the  newspaper 
world  had  in  him  an  efficient  editor;  he  has  given 
also  to  the  literary  world  several  good  articles 
both  prose  and  poetry. 


Page  Thirty'On* 


SAMUEL  ADAMS  KNOTT 


Dr.  Minerva  Knott,  Granddaughter. 


SAMUEL  KNOTT,  his  wife,  Susan  Heller  Knott, 
(granddaughter  of  John  Heller  of  Revolution 
tame)  and  their  children  have  lived  in  the  mem- 
ory of  the  former  residents  of  Hills  Grove,  Illi- 
nois, for  over  three-fourths  of  a  century — not  on 
account  of  their  riches  or  show  of  vanity  and 
power,  but  because  of  honest  integrity,  justice  to 
their  fellow  man  and  sincere  christian  benevol- 
ences. 

Mr.  Knott,  who  was  familiarly  known  as 
"Squire,"  and  family  lived  near  Hills  Grove  on 
Section  30  of  Tennessee  township,  for  a  number 
of  years ;  he  obtained  the  deed  for  this  farm  from 
the  government  in  1840  and  it  was  in  his  posses- 
sion for  twenty-five  years.  Later  he  moved  to 
Tennessee  where  he  had  a  store  and  also  served 
as  justice  of  the  peace  for  that  locality  for  many 
terms.  His  judicial  ability  and  judgment  was 
considered  by  many  equal  to  that  of  the  average 
practicing  attorney,  samuel  Knott  was  given  the 
name  Adams  because  his  mother  was  a  direct  de- 
scendant of  President  John  Quincy  Adams. 

Their  children  were  Mary,  Isaiah,  Minerva, 
Helen  and  Thompson;  Mary,  Minerva  and  Helen 


died  in  young  womanhood  and  with  their  mother 
are  buried  in  the  Hills  Grove  cemetery. 

Mary  and  Isaiah  attended  the  Hills  Grove 
seminary  under  the  beloved  teacher,  Isaac  Hol- 
ton.  Mary  taught  school  in  that  locality  for  sev- 
eral years  and  was  highly  esteemed  for  her  fine 
mind  and  strong  Christian  character.  Isaiah 
Knott  studied  medicine  at  St.  Louis,  Missouri,  re- 
turning to  Illinois  where  he  practiced  his  profes- 
sion for  a  number  of  years.  In  1858  he  was  mar- 
ried to  Mary  Ann  Wolfe,  a  niece  of  Mrs.  Honor 
Bacon. 

In  1866  they  moved  to  Marceline,  Missouri, 
where  they  lived  till  the  death  of  Dr.  Knott,  Nov- 
ember 29,  1904,  and  of  Mrs.  Knott,  Februarv  3, 
1912. 

A  few  years  after  Dr.  Isaiah  Knott  moved  to 
Missouri,  Samuel  Adams  Knott  and  son  Thomp- 
son also  moved  to  the  same  state  where  the  father 
died  September  20,  1871 ;  Thompson  Knott  died 
(without  heirs)  July  27,  1880. 

Dr.  Isaiah  Knott  and  wife  had  nine  children: 
Susan  Louise,  Emma  Helen  and  Samuel  Harvey 


Page  Thirty-Two 


were  born  at  Tennessee,  Illinois,  and  the  latter 
two  are  still  living  at  Marceline,  Missouri;  Susan 
Green  died  September  8,  1918.  The  other  child- 
ren are;  Dr.  Minerva  Knott,  Glendale,  California; 
Fred  Knott,  of  Salisbury,  Missouri;  Mary 
Maughs,  Marceline,  Missouri;  Dr.  Isaiah  Knott, 
Jr.,  Montrose,  Colorado;  and  Rose  Edith  Morrow, 
who  also  lives  at  Marceline;  Dr.  Albert  W.  Knott 
died  at  Montrose,  Colorado,  on  January  2,  1918. 

Dr.  Isaiah  Knott  has  twenty-two  grandchild- 


ren now  entering  into  various  business  interests 
of  life.  Pardon  me  if  it  seems  boastful  to  state 
in  this  age  of  wild  reckless  living,  that  the  de- 
scendants of  Samuel  Adams  Knott  have  always 
held  positions  of  honor  and  trust  and  not  one  of 
them  has  ever  been  under  arrest  for  any  form  of 
misdemeanor  or  lawlessness. 

"All  the  day  long  he  dealeth  graciously  and 
lendeth ;  and  his  seed  is  blessed." 


Page  Thirty-Three 


LARKIN  CROUCH  BACON 

Mrs.  Mary  Bacon  Johnson,  Daughter. 


LARKIN  BACON,  the  son  of  Joseph  Barnes  and 
Agnes  (Crouch)  Bacon,  was  born  near  Jones- 
boro,  Tennessee,  May  2,  1818.  His  grandfather, 
Isaac  Bacon,  was  a  soldier  in  the  Revolutionary 
War,  and  his  father,  Joseph  Barnes  Bacon,  was 
captain  of  a  volunteer  company  in  the  war  of  1812 
and  served  under  General  Jackson  in  the  southern 
campaign.  Father's  parents  moved  to  Illinois  in 
1834  and  were  among  the  early  settlers  in  the  vi- 
cinity of  the  town  of  Tennessee  which  was  named 
in  memory  of  their  native  state. 

He  attended  the  Holton  seminary  at  Hills 
Grove,  founded  by  Professor  Isaac  Holton. 

In  1841  Mr.  Bacon  was  married  to  Miss 
Honor  Durbin  and  bought  a  farm  at  Hills  Grove 
which  was  their  home  for  the  rest  of  their  lives. 
Their  children  were:  Sarah  Arabelle,  Mary  Ann, 
Sarah  Alice,  George  Washington,  Sophronia  Pal- 
estine, Joseph  Barnes,  James  Harrison,  Harvey 
McCutcheon,  Louisa  and  Fannie.  Those  now  liv- 
ing are  Mary  who  is  Mrs.  Mason  M.  Johnson,  of 
Carthage,   Illinois;  Sarah  Alice,  whom  we  know 


as  Mrs.  Damon  G.  Tunnicliff,  of  Chicago;  Dr. 
Joseph  B.  Bacon,  of  Macomb,  Illinois;  James  H. 
Bacon,  of  San  Diego,  California,  and  Harvey  M. 
Bacon,  of  El  Paso,  Texas.  Mrs.  Honor  Bacon 
died  in  1864,  and  later  Mr.  Bacon  married  Mrs. 
Louisa  (Latimer)  Meek.  Their  children  were 
Ulara,  Nancy,  Larkin  William  and  Agnes,  of 
whom  Clara  and  Agnes  survive  and  are  living  in 
Baltimore,  Maryland. 

Mr.  Bacon  and  his  family  were  members  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  which  for  a 
great  many  years  he  was  superintendent  of  the 
Sunday  School,  efficient  and  always  faithful.  He 
also  took  great  interest  in  educational  matters. 
He  was  a  school  trustee  for  over  twenty-five 
years,  and  used  his  influence  to  secure  as  teachers 
well  educated  men  and  women  who  could  prepare 
their  pupils  to  enter  college,  a  privilege  of  which 
many  of  the  next  generation  availed  themselves. 

Mr.  Bacon  had  one  of  the  most  carefully 
managed  farms  in  McDonough  county,  well 
stocked  and  improved  in  every  way.  There  he 
died  October  24,  1877. 


Page  ThinyFour 


JOHN  J.  SALISBURY 


Charles  T.  Salisbury,  Son. 


BEFORE  mother's  death  she  gave  me  notes  and 
dates  of  our  family  history  and,  sad  to  relate, 
the  things  that  later  I  would  have  prized  so 
highly  I  did  not  then  think  were  of  any  value. 

My  father,  John  J.  Salisbury,  IV.,  was  of 
English  descent  for  his  great  grandfather,  John 
J.  Salisbury,  I.,  came  to  America  with  the  army 
of  King  George  III.,  to  quell  the  uprising  of  the 
colonists;  he  quickly  took  in  the  situation,  joined 
the  colonists  and  fought  with  them  until  the  close 
of  the  war.  He  followed  the  sea  until  he  was 
recognized  by  an  officer  of  an  English  vessel;  for 
fear  of  being  returned  to  his  native  country  he 
fled  to  the  interior  where  he  later  married  and  to 
them  were  born  William  and  John  J.  Salisbury  II. 

The  younger  son,  when  he  reached  manhood, 
pushed  on  toward  the  west  where  he  drove  an  ox 
team  between  trading  posts;  to  him  and  his  wife 
were  given  two  children,  John  J.  Salisbury  III., 
and  Helen.  Their  home  was  in  Champaign  coun- 
ty, Ohio. 

This  son,  who  was  my  grandfather,  was 
killed  in  a  clearing  accident.  The  shock  of  his 
death,  coupled  with  the  burning  of  their  cabin 


heme  on  the  night  of  my  father's  birth  (on  a 
hastily  constructed  bed  in  a  wagon  box  under  a 
chestnut  tree),  caused  my  grandmother's  death. 
In  a  short  time  father  and  his  brother  William 
were  twice  orphaned. 

These  boys  were  cared  for  by  friends  till  fif- 
teen and  seventeen  years  old  when  they  came 
west  with  some  neighbors  and  other  orphans. 
The  company  camped  on  St.  Mary's  Prairie  in 
Illinois  and  from  that  time  father  had  a  home 
with  William  Barnes,  who  lived  in  this  vicin- 
ity, till  his  marriage  in  September,  1843.  His 
brother,  William,  went  to  Missouri  where  he  was 
overseer  of  a  woodman's  camp  which  finally  grew 
into  the  city  01  Salisbury. 

My  mother,  daughter  of  Asal  and  Elizabeth 
Owen,  was  born  April  2,  1820,  in  Westville,  Ohio, 
and  later  moved  witn  her  parents  to  Philometh, 
Indiana,  where  she  met  and  married  William  M. 
Green,  September  3,  1836,  and  to  them  was  born 
one  son,  William  Mortimer  Green,  in  Urbana, 
Ohio.  Her  husband  died  in  1839  and  mother  re- 
turned to  her  parents  in  Illinois. 

Mrs.  Green  met  John  Salisbury  at  a  picnic  at 
Graves'  mill.     A  baby  had  been  lost  and  a  youn& 


Page  Thirty-Five 


mother  was  excitedly  imploring  everybody  to  find 
her  boy ;  a  tall  young  man  with  black  hair  came 
toward  the  crowd  from  the  mill  race  and  delivered 
a  scared  little  toddler  to  an  equally  scared  little 
mother.  They  were  later  married  in  the  Hills 
Grove  seminary  by  Rev.  Capman  after  the  morn- 
ing sermon  and  the  entire  village  repaired  to  Dr. 
Owen's  home  for  a  wedding  dinner. 

Their  children  were  Helen,  deceased  at  72; 
Ambros  L.,  who  died  at  39;  Elizabeth,  who  lived 
to  be  69 ;  William  0.,  72  years  of  age,  lives  at  Brit- 
ton,  Oklahoma,  where  he  owned  and  worked  a 
section  of  land  till  he  lost  his  son,  Earl,  and  now 
lives  with  his  daughter,  for  his  wife  and  two  sons 
have  passed  on ;  Joseph  G.,  70  years  old  is  a  bach- 
elor, also  lives  in  the  same  state  and  has  been 
blind  since  21  years  of  age ;  Avis  C.,  aged  68,  lives 
in  Pawnee  county  where  he  won  a  farm  when 
Uncle  Sam  parceled  out  the  land  secured  from  the 
Indians;  Charles  T.,  66  years  old  who  never  wan- 
dered far  from  the  old  home,  lives  in  Galesburg 
and  is  employed  by  the  Chicago,  Burlington  & 
Quincy  Railroad  Company  in  the  office  of  the 
Over,  Short  and  Claim  department;  Homer  died 
when  10  years  old  and  James  C.  at  28,  he  being 
also  a  railroad  man. 

"When  the  one   grand  scorer  comes 
To   write  against  our  name, 


He  will  not  write  how  we  lost  or  won 
But  how  we  played  the  game." 

Our  old  Hills  Grove  people  who  shared  each 
others  joys  and  sorrows  will  have  nothing  to  fear; 
they  played  the  game  square. 

A    Story. 

May  I  relate  one  act  of  real  deviltry  pulled  off 
by  some  very  likable  boys  of  former  days?  No 
names  will  be  mentioned  because  some  of  the 
actors  in  this  near  tragedy  are  still  living,  al- 
though fifty  summers  have  come  and  gone.  An- 
other reason  for  not  mentioning  names  is  because 
Dolph  Long  and  John  Morrow  made  a  vow  that 
the  culprits  would  rest  in  jail  when  discovered. 

Two  of  the  McDonough  boys  gave  a  "Ring 
around  a  Rosy"  and  "  Who's  got  the  Thimble" 
party.  When  the  invitations  were  issued,  for 
reasons  best  known  to  them,  some  of  these  lov- 
able boys  were  left  out  (although  their  best  girls 
were  there)  and  these  same  boys  swore  venge- 
ance. 

The  time  was  June.  A  big  round  moon,  giv- 
ing off  a  soft  mellow  glow,  made  it  an  ideal  night 
for  exhilarant  youth  to  whisper  sweet  nothings  in 
the  ear  of  the  other  fellow's  girl.  This  party  was 
made  up  of  John,  Sadie  and  Josie  Morrow,  Dolph 


Page  Thirty-Six 


Long,  Anna  and  Vina  Barker,  Doug  Griffitts, 
Nellie  Owen  and  Dolph  and  George  McDonough 
and  a  few  others.. 

These  young  villians,  to  make  good  their  oath 
of  vengeance,  took  two  four-gallon  milk  pails  and 
niled  them  from  the  milk-man's  best  friend,  the 
pump.  They  hid  themselves  behind  the  hedge  on 
Charles  Gilchrist's  old  home  where  the  road 
turns  toward  the  Hills  Grove  burying  ground. 
West  of  this  corner  was  a  white  oak  tree  (still 
standing)  and  later  was  destined  to  be  the  saviour 
of  this  party  of  merry-makers. 

At  tnis  point  the  young  culprits,  waiting  like 
jungle  beasts  for  their  prey,  finally  heard  the 
chatter  of  the  innocent  victims  and  the  dull  thud 
of  the  plodding  mule  team  (2:30  a.  m.)  At  the 
moment  the  wagon  brushed  the  corner,  up  rose 
the  ghosts  of  outraged  affection  and  the  deluge  of 
Noah's  day  was  a  small  affair  (so  the  girls  said) 
to  the  water  that  swept  over  the  occupants  of 
that  wagon. 

Then  the  unexpected  happened ;  the  team 
started     to  run  (so  did  the  above  named  boys), 


the  girls  screamed  and  the  mules  ran  into  the 
aforesaid  oak  tree,  broke  the  wagon  tongue  and 
the  lower  order  of  animals  stood  looking  into  the 
wagon  at  the  higher  order  of  animals. 

One  laughable  feature  was  when  the  entire 
village  gathered  around  the  weeping  girls  and 
helpless  boys  and  Van  Gilchrist  said  to  John,  the 
driver,  "Why  did  you  let  the  mules  get  a  start?" 
and  he  answered  without  thinking,  that  he  could 
not  find  the  lines.  Moral:  Never  drive  mules  un- 
less you  have  a  good  hold  on  the  lines. 

Had  this  badly  disarranged  party  taken  a 
good  look  at  a  suspect  that  the  writer  thinks  was 
one  of  the  culprits,  although  in  bed,  they  would 
have  found  that  he  was  not  asleep.  Furthermore, 
if  the  wise  one  of  the  party  had  put  his  ear  to  the 
ground  he  would  have  heard  the  hoof  beats  of  a 
high-spirited  sorrel  galloping  toward  the  east, 
veering  to  the  right  down 
and  stop  at  the  gate  of  a 
But  why  go  further.  I  told 
you  some  of  the  actors  in  this  tragedy  are  still 
living  and  if  everything  was  made  as  clear  as  mud 
there  might  yet  be  some  new  faces  in  Joliet. 


across  the  railroad, 
through  the  timber 
certain  Aunt  Mary 


Page  Thirty-Seven 


ASA  DECKER 


Mrs.  Mary  Decker  Webb,  Daughter. 


ASA  DECKER  was  born  in  New  York  near 
Shawangunk,  Ulster  county,  June  3,  1819. 
His  parents  were  Cornelius  and  Gertrude  Decker, 
the  father  being  a  thrifty  Hollander.  Asa  was 
of  a  family  of  eleven  children  and  when  his  moth- 
er was  left  a  widow,  the  children  early  in  life  were 
foi-ced  to  rely  on  themselves.  He  attended  school 
a  few  months  in  winter  but  in  summer  worked 
for  neighboring  farmers  for  very  small  wages. 

When  he  reached  his  majority  he  felt  the 
longing  to  own  some  land.  He  had  heard  of  the 
fertile  lands  of  Illinois — "the  country  away  out 
west,"  so  he  left  home  and  mother,  coming  by 
canal  and  the  Great  Lakes  to  the  land  of  promise. 
He  stopped  in  Lamoine  township  where  he 
worked  clearing  the  timber  lands  for  the  early 
settlers  and  making  rails  to  fence  the  same  for 
the  magnificent  price  of  50  cents  per  hundred ;  he 
continued  this  work  for  a  year  when  he  found 
employment  as  a  miller  at  Rockeys  mill,  a  water 
power  mill  on  Crooked  creek  southeast  of  where 
Colmar  now  stands.  The  settlers  would  come  for 
miles  on  horseback  with  their  sack  of  corn  or 
wheat  to  have  it  ground,  and  the  miller  for  his 
work  took  "toll". 


Here  Asa  Decker  was  married  in  1845  and 
went  to  housekeeping  in  a  one-room  cabin.  He 
made  a  bedstead  of  hickory  poles  and  their  split 
bottomed  chairs  of  the  same  material  were  made 
by  a  neighbor;  their  table  was  a  box  which,  when 
the  frugal  meal  was  over,  was  used  as  a  cupboard ; 
a  fireplace  in  one  corner  served  for  heating  and 
cooking;  thus  they  began  life  simply  but  they  were 
happy  for  they  were  working  together  for  a  home 
of  their  own  and  here  their  first  child,  George, 
was  born. 

After  a  few  years  they  rented  land  and  began 
farming  on  what  is  now  the  Wybrant  farm. 
About  1851  they  bought  sixty  acres  of  land  from 
a  Mr.  Talbot  of  Ohio,  who  had  entered  the  land 
from  the  government;  do  not  know  the  price  but 
tiiey  bought  it  on  time  and  once  came  near  losing 
it;  it  was  hard  to  meet  the  payments  for  prices 
were  low  and  money  scare.  They  built  a  cabin  of 
two  rooms  one  of  which  was  upstairs  and  on  one 
never  to  be  forgotten  day  the  last  dollar  was  paid 
and  it  was  theirs.  In  this  cabin  I  was  born. 
About  1855  father  bought  forty  adjoining  acres 
of  Charles  G.  Gilchrist  at  $25.00  per  acre  and  paid 
for  it  m  gold  coin  which  was  carefully  hid  away  in 


Page  Thirty-Eight 


a  tin  box  under  the  stairs.     This  land  is  now  all 
owned  by  Mrs.  Eugene  Ellis. 

My  brother  and  1  spent  our  first  school  days 
in  the  old  seminary.  I  remember  especially  one 
teacher,  J.  Berry,  who  was  considered  a  fine  in- 
structor and  also  his  rules  were  strictly  obeyed. 

Some  of  the  happenings  of  those  days  are  in- 
delibly stamped  on  my  memory.  Mother  would 
sometimes  allow  me  to  spend  an  afternoon  with 
Aunt  Phoebe  Holton,  visits  which  were  greatly 
enjoyed  by  me  for  I  loved  her.  I  can  see  her  yet 
as  she  looked  then;  her  face  with  that  pleasant 
smile,  her  wavy  hair  tinged  with  gray,  her  dark 
eyes  looking  into  mine;  she  greeted  me  cordially 
and  made  me  welcome  although  I  was  a  little  child 
and  she  an  elderly  lady. 


In  those  early  days  there  were  not  many  lux- 
uries and  then  we  took  our  pleasure  rides  in  a 
wagon  sitting  on  split  bottom  chairs ;  I  remember 
going  to  Macomb  in  this  kind  of  conveyance  to 
hear  Lincoln  speak,  of  seeing  the  crowd  and  the 
two  clubs  marching:  "The  Hickory  Club"  whose 
suits  were  of  blue  and  white  striped  shirting, 
carrying  hickory  clubs,  and  "The  Wide  Awakes" 
who  carried  lighted  torches. 

Mother  died  in  1868  and  father  in  1876. 
They,  with  many  others  whom  we  loved,  rest  in 
the  Hills  Grove  cemetery.  There  are  now  living 
of  this  family,  Mary,  wife  of  T.  I.  Webb,  and 
Retta,  Honor  having  died  in  1914  and  George  in 
1919. 


Page  Thirty-Nine 


BENEDICT  D.  REYNOLDS 


Mrs.  Louisa  Reynolds  Window,  Daughter. 


"How  dear  to  my  heart  are  the  scenes  of  my  childhood 
When   fond  recollection  presents   them   to    view." 

THE  old  log  school  house  with  its  high  narrow 
benches,  its  shady  playground  and  our  won- 
derful Snake-den  hollow  where  wild  flowers  and 
ferns  grew  in  abundance;  the  playhouses  were 
adorned  with  bright  bits  of  ware ;  happy  the  little 
girl  who  could  claim  for  her  friend  a  boy  who 
would  carry  boards  and  bricks  to  build  a  cupboard 
tor  those  handsome  dishes  made  valuable  by 
enchantment  and  glamour. 

The  names  we  loved  to  hear  have  been  carved 
for  many  a  year  on  granite.  I  can  recall  very 
lew  who  are  now  among  us  of  that  long  line  that 
"toed  the  mark"  when  the  spelling  class  was 
called.  At  the  teachers  word,  "Attention,"  each 
boy  made  a  stiff  little  bow  bending  his  neck  and 
knee,  each  girl  dropped  a  courtesy  and  then  came 
the  ordeal;  from  Webster's  blue  backed  spelling 
book  were  pronounced  such  words  as  cin-na-mon, 
et-y-mon,  etc.;  lucky  the  child  who  could  spell  and 
pronounce  each  syllable  and  many  of  us  could  re- 
cite the  whole  column  without  prompting  and,  oh, 
the  pride  with  which  one  would  step  above  those 
who  forgot. 

Page  Forty 


My  school  days  in  the  log  seminary  were 
after  Mr.  Holton's  death  when  it  was  used  as  a 
district  school  building.  But  even  at  a  tender 
age  life  could  not  be  all  smiles  for  the  best  teach- 
ers were  intent  on  keeping  good  order.  An  edict 
had  gone  forth  that  we  must  not  whisper;  on  one 
fateful  day  (it  must  have  been  an  "unlucky  Fri- 
day"), turning  in  my  seat  I  asked  Mary  Bacon 
"what  is  Con-stan-ti-no-ple  ?"  and  then  I  received 
my  first  humiliation  for  I  was  punished. 

My  parents  with  all  the  neighbors  worshiped 
in  this  same  log  house.  My  father  was  said  to  be 
the  best  dressed  man  in  the  house ;  his  Sunday 
suit  of  jean  was  made  from  the  wool  he  sheared 
from  his  own  sheep;  my  mother  spun  it  into 
yarn,  colored  and  wove  it,  cut  and  fitted  the  suit 
and  sewed  it  by  hand ;  yet  she  had  time  for  many 
little  neighborly  attentions  her  descendants  of  the 
present  generation  cannot  compass. 

Both  my  parents  were  well  educated  for  that 
time;  my  mother  had  taught  school,  my  father 
nad  traveled ;  when  fourteen  years  of  age  he  went 
to  sea  and  his  first  cruise  was  through  the  Medi- 
terranean across  the  Pacific,  around  Cape  Horn 
and  ended  at  Baltimore  after  three  years;  this 


ship,  Delaware,  was  the  largest  in  the  navy. 
For  twenty  years  he  was  on  the  Mississippi,  Mis- 
souri and  Illinois  rivers,  being  at  one  time  mate 
of  the  Lady  of  Lyons.  On  one  trip  he  landed  at 
Beardstown  from  where  he  walked  across  country 
to  Carthage. 

My  mother  was  Amelia  Thompson.  She  came 
with  her  parents  from  Hopkinsville,  Kentucky  to 
Carthage,  Illinois,  in  the  early  forties,  making  the 
entire  trip  on  horse  back. 


A  few  years  later,  her  little  niece,  Margaret 
Eliza  Thompson,  lost  her  mother  by  death  and 
became  a  loved  member  of  our  family  for  several 
years.  She  now  lives  in  Passagrill,  Florida,  the 
widow  of  the  late  Dr.  James  R.  Paine.  She  went 
to  school  at  Hills  Grove  and  has  a  clear  picture  in 
her  mind  of  the  house,  the  seat  she  sat  in  and 
many  of  the  boys  and  girls. 


Page  Forty  One 


ISAAC  FARWELL  HOLTON 

Rev.  Charles  S.  Holton,  Son. 


FARWELL  HOLTON  was  born  August  30, 
1812,  in  Westminster,  Vermont,  being  the 
tenth  01  the  twelve  children  of  William  and  Olive 
(Rockwood)  Holton.  Whatever  may  have  been 
the  characteristics  of  the  other  members  of  his 
family,  it  is  very  evident  that  he  was  never  des- 
tined for  a  farmer.  Chafing  under  its  restraints 
as  a  boy,  when  he  came  to  young  manhood  he  fol- 
lowed nis  yearning  for  knowledge  and  won  out 
because  of  the  fact  that  his  father's  youngest 
brother,  Isaac,  had  already  been  seized  with  this 
consuming  desire,  not  alone  to  learn  but  to  impart 
learning  to  others. 

Uncle  Isaac  took  up  the  art  of  teaching  as  a 
form  of  Christian  service.  My  father  attended 
his  school  in  South  Berwick,  Maine,  and  complet- 
ing his  preparation  at  Amherst  Academy,  Mass- 
achusetts, he  entered  Amherst  College  and  gradu- 
ated in  1836.  In  the  previous  year  there  had 
been  quite  a  family  emigration  from  Westminster 
to  western  Illinois  in  which  grandfather  and  his 
children  joined  and  Uncle  Isaac  went  out  under  a 
true  missionary  call.     They  settled  in  Hills  Grove. 

Father  had  been  captivated  by  his  study  of 
chemistry  and  botany ;  he  had  also  felt  the  call  of 

Page  Forty-Two 


the  ministry.  While  continuing  his  studies  for 
the  latter  calling  he  never  ceased  to  keep  abreast 
of  the  developing  sciences  and  after  graduating 
from  Union  Theological  Seminary  in  1839,  he  be- 
came a  teacher  in  the  Mission  Institute  near 
Quincy,  Illinois. 

Numerous  stories  have  been  told  of  his  tire- 
less searchings  for  botanical  specimens  wherever 
he  might  be — how  on  one  of  the  trips  he  made 
from  the  new  western  home  back  to  his  studies  in 
the  east,  they  were  making  part  of  the  journey 
by  steamboat,  and  whenever  the  boat  tied  up, 
father  was  off  over  the  hills  looking  for  speci- 
mens ;  as  the  time  came  for  resuming  the  journey 
the  captain  would  cry  out,  "Ring  the  bell  for  'The 
Weed  Man'  "  and  in  a  few  moments  he  would  be 
seen  loping  through  the  fields  to  the  landing  with 
his  hands  full  of  the  specimens  he  had  gathered. 

Concluding  his  botanical  researches  in  the 
Mississippi  valley,  he  accepted  a  professorship  in 
the  College  of  Pharmacy  in  New  York  City. 
During  this  time  he  also  gave  lectures  on  botany 
in  the  schools  for  young  ladies  in  New  York,  and 
occasionally  assisted  in  lecturing  on  chemistry 
ana  botany  at  Princeton  College  and  the  College 


of  Physicians  and  Surgeons  of  the  State  Univer- 
sity of  New  York.  Subsequently  he  taught  these 
sciences  in  Middlebury  College,  Vt.,  and  completed 
his  study  of  botany  with  a  trip  to  South  America 
where  he  spent  nearly  two  years  studying  the 
flora  and  fauna  of  that  country,  later  publishing  a 
volume  entitled  "Twenty  Months  of  the  Andes." 
Through  a  deep  friendship  with  Professors  Asa 
Gray  of  Harvard  and  John  Torrey  of  the  College 
of  Physicians  and  Surgeons,  (the  leading  botan- 
ists of  the  country),  many  specimens  from  South 
America  found  a  place  in  their  herbariums  while 
the  exchange  made  my  father's  herbarium  "sec- 
ond to  none"  as  Prof.  Gray  declared.  It  is  now 
the  possession  of  Amherst  College.. 

While  teaching  in  Middlebury  in  1857  Prof. 
Holton  nlled  the  pulpit  of  the  Congregational 
Church  of  Cornwall  where  he  met  the  daughter 
01  Deacon  Dan  Warner,  whom  he  married  April 
26,  1858.  They  movea  to  Lawrence,  McHenry 
county,  Illinois,  where  father  was  pastor  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church.  Here  Clara  was  born.  I 
have  an  idea  he  was  too  interested  in  his  beloved 
sciences  to  give  much  time  to  the  tasks  of  parish 
work  for  in  three  years,  during  which  time  Nancy 
Gates  was  born  in  Cornwall,  Vt.  The  family 
settled  in  Hills  Grove,  where  he  attempted  to 
carry  on  a  small  farm  and  pursue  his  studies,  for 


father  had  done  a  great  deal  of  writing  ever  since 
his  college  days. 

Farming  was  not  his  forte,  that  is  certain! 
When  he  went  to  the  fields,  he  usually  took  a  book 
along  and  the  fence  corners  made  a  convenient 
resting  place  (so  I  have  been  told).  Tne  sur- 
roundings were  not  like  those  of  their  beautiful 
Vermont  home  nor  were  the  cries  of  coyotes  at 
night  conducive  to  mother's  happiness. 

Soon  after  Edward  Pay  son  was  born  in  '64, 
father  was  called  to  aid  in  editing  the  "Boston 
Recorder"  and  the  family  moved  to  Medford,  a 
suburb  of  Boston.  Father  became  a  bosom 
friend  of  Charles  Sumner  whose  name  he  gave  to 
his  next  son  who  was  born  in  '66;  I  later  had  the 
pleasure  of  sitting  on  his  lap  and  hearing  him  tell 
stories. 

The  family  moved  to  Everett  where  father 
became  one  of  its  most  honored  citizens  and 
where  he  lived  until  his  death,  January  25,  1874. 
Mother  bravely  took  up  the  task  of  educating  her 
children;  Clara  graduating  at  15  began  to  teach 
in  Vermont,  because  of  her  youth,  but  later 
taught  in  Everett  tiil  her  death  in  1879.  Nina 
went  right  into  her  sister's  position  and  taught 
till  both  boys  were  prepared  for  college,  Edward 
graduating  from  Amherst  in  '87,  and  Charles  two 
years  later.     Nina  then  continued  studying  the 


Pare  Forty-Three 


sciences  her  father  had  loved,  spending  a  year  in 
Zurich,  Switzerland,  and  graduating  from  Chi- 
cago University  in  1896.  After  teaching  a  while 
she  entered  a  governmental  position  in  1902  in 
the  Bureau  of  Plant  Industry  of  the  Agricultural 
Department  in  Washington,  D.  C,  as  a  microscop- 
ist  and  doing  translating  and  abstracting  till  her 
aeatn  in  May,  1908. 


Edward  graduated  from  Yale  Divinity  School 
and  went  as  a  Missionary  to  Madura  Mission  in 
Southern  India,  where  he  has  since  been  working. 
Charles  studied  in  Yale,  graduated  from  Andover, 
and  is  at  present  pastor  of  the  First  Congrega- 
tional Church  in  Newoury  where  he  has  been  for 
twenty-eight  years. 


Page  Fortv-Four 


VILLAGE  OF  HILLS  GROVE 


Mrs.  Elva  Gilchrist  Rinehart. 


THE  name  Hills  Grove  was  suggested  by  Mrs. 
Esther  Hill,  a  sister  of  Mrs.  Isaac  Holton, 
whose  husband  took  up  some  land  near  here.  It 
was  laid  out  by  Samuel  A.  Hunt,  February  22, 
1844,  and  deeded  April  3  of  the  same  year  to 
Town  Plat  of  Hills  Grove  by  Isaac  Holton. 

There  are  ten  blocks  in  the  plat,  three  on  the 
east  side  of  Main  Street,  which  is  now  a  public 
road,  and  seven,  one  of  which  is  the  public  square, 
on  the  west.  There  were  at  one  time  in  and  ad- 
joining the  corporate  village  thirteen  homes,  a 
blacksmith  shop,  two  stores  and  a  post  office 
which  was  kept  in  a  private  home. 

Isaac  Webb  lived  north  of  where  the  church 
now  stands  and  afterwards  in  the  same  house 
lived  a  Mr.  Sullivan  and  later  John  Newkirk  who 
was  his  son-in-law.  A  little  northeast  of  the 
present  school  building  was  a  log  house  where 
Squire  Nichols  lived  and  then  Mr.  Towe  and  Mr. 
George  Decker  and  wife  began  housekeeping  here. 

East  of  the  above  named  school  house  but 
on  the  same  block  was  the  home  where  Harriet 
Macklin  took  the  vows  which  made  her  Mrs.  Wil- 
liam Potter.     West  of  this  same  school  building 


was  a  one-room  cabin  where  Tom  Richardson 
lived.  On  Hickory  street,  which  was  south  of  the 
school  lot  was  a  log  building  where  Jacob  Fousal 
lived  and  a  two-story  frame  occupied  by  William 
Odell  and  which  he  sold  in  1855  to  Allen  Porter 
for  $305.00.  On  the  corner  of  Hickory  and  Main 
was  a  busy  blacksmith  shop  run  by  James  Peck, 
Mr.  Pierce  and  later  by  Mr.  Duncan. 

On  the  corner  of  Hill  and  Main  was  a  one  and 
one-half  story  frame  nouse  built  by  John  C.  Co- 
nant,  a  cabinet  maker;  in  the  same  house  later 
lived  Mr.  Starboard  who  had  a  cooper  shop  back 
of  his  home.  Those  of  a  later  generation  will  re- 
member it  as  the  home  of  the  John  Salisbury 
family. 

On  the  corner  of  Prairie  and  Main  was  the 
two-story  frame  built  by  Rev.  D.  R.  Williams  and 
was  then  an  unusually  fine  home;  Mrs.  Julia 
Ferris  remembers  how  she  thought  it  would  be  a 
wonderful  experience  to  look  out  of  those  up- 
stairs windows.  During  the  gold  excitement  he 
went  to  California  and  returned  in  1852  because 
of  failing  health,  but  before  he  reached  his  home, 
he  grew   worse  and  died  at  Pennington's  Point. 


Page  Forty»Five 


He  owned  the  first  melodeon  in  the  county  which 
now  belongs  to  Miss  Anna  Owen. 

Fronting  the  square,  which  was  south  of 
Prairie  and  west  of  Main  streets,  were  the  two 
stores  owned  respectively  by  William  Odell  and 
Hampton  Wade.  Near  the  south  side  of  the 
square  was  the  home  of  Mrs.  Parker  whose  yard 
was  a  flower  garden  and  in  a  house  north  of  where 
his  father  lived  was  the  home  of  John  Holton  and 
later  of  Malcolm  Stewart.  There  was  also  the 
Isaac  Holton  home  and  that  of  Charles  Gilchrist 
which  was  located  on  Adams  street  and  the  house 
near  the  three  walnut  trees  where  Farwell  Holton 
lived. 


The  old  time  hospitality  is  shown  by  this 
clipping  from  a  diary  written  in  1842:  "We  all 
went  to  Church  this  morning  and  twenty-five  ate 
dinner  with  us." 

One  cannot  but  think  how  independent  each 
settlement  could  be ;  tney  had  their  own  teachers, 
preacher,  doctor,  nurses,  dentist  and  legal  advis- 
er; they  made  their  own  lumber,  had  their  own 
cooper  and  cabinet  maker  and  on  their  farms  they 
grew  practically  all  that  they  needed. 

Of  this  little  village,  there  stands  today  a 
church,  schoolhouse  and  two  dwellings. 


Page  Forty-Six 


Pap.e  Forty-Seven 


A  SCHOOL  OF  A  LATER  DAY 


Jireh  Swift  Berry. 


SINCE  learning  of  the  book  which  is  being  writ- 
ten about  the  early  days  of  Hills  Grove,  I 
have  been  coaxing  my  memory  to  tell  me  of  the 
boys  and  girls  who  were  my  pupils  when  I  taught 
there  in  the  fifties,  but  am  not  meeting  with  much 
success.  To  go  back  seventy  years  and  recall 
those  who  were  starting  in  their  life  work  is 
something  of  an  undertaking,  nevertheless  I  re- 
member some  of  them. 

I  boarded  with  Hugh  and  Mary  McDonough 
and  from  them  learned  the  history  of  Snake  Den 
nollow.     Their  son,  Leo,  was  one  of  the  pupils. 

I  remember  Henry  Walker  and  his  younger 
sisters;  Mary,  Sarah  and  George  Bacon;  Lou 
Reynolds,  Ed  Gilchrist,  Asal  Fulkerson  and 
George  and  Mary  Decker.  There  were  also  Lizzie 
and  Maggie  Wybrant,  Ira  and  James  Groves, 
Sarah  and  Charles  Waddill,  Guinn  and  Sam  Port- 


er and  I  think  there  were  two  from  the  Neal  Mc- 
Donough family.  I  knew  the  Salisbury,  Webb 
and  Owen  families  and  there  were  many  others 
whose  children  attended  the  school. 

The  old  log  school  house,  which  had  once 
been  the  Seminary,  was  crowded  to  its  utmost  ca- 
pacity. School  houses  in  those  days  were  not 
very  near  each  other  and  the  parents  of  that 
neighborhood  were  anxious  to  give  their  children 
all  the  advantages  of  an  education  that  was  pos- 
sible. 

I  recall,  without  any  effort  however,  the 
agreeable  associations  which  I  had  with  the 
people  of  Hills  Grove  and  I  remember  with  pleas- 
ure the  friends  which  I  made  while  there. 

My  home  is  in  Browning,  Illinois,  and  I  will 
be  one  hundred  and  three  years  old  in  October. 


Page  porty-Eight 


A  TRIBUTE 


As  the  years  have  quickly  passed, 
Many  changes  have  taken  place 
But  memories  long  will  last 
And  those  we  love  to  trace. 


In  a  building  of  logs  he  started 
His  useful  work  to  do 
And  the  knowledge  that  he  imparted 
Has  lived  the  long  years  through. 


Like  the  oak  by  the  side  of  the  road 
Isaac  Holton's  good  work  has  grown; 
A  tiny  seed  at  first  he  sowed 
But  with  help  it  grew  and  was  known. 


And  our  friends  we  also  remember 
The  joys  and  sorrows  we  shared, 
The  quarrels  and  tears  we  surrender 
But  our  friendships  cannot  be  spared. 


We  loved  this  dear,  kind  man 
With  his  spirit  so  noble  and  true; 
And  the  tree  of  good  he  began 
Shows  its  growth  by  the  things  we  do. 


A  tribute  to  each  one  we  pay. 
And  we  know  that  his  life  has  been 
Helpful  and  true  in  many  a  ivay 
And  a  guide  for  other  men. 

Ruth   Cornelia  Foley. 


Page  Forty-Nine 


UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS-URBANA 

977  342R47H  C001 

HILLS  GROVE.  ILLINOIS  CARTHAGE 


3  0112  025390995 


II 


